The Windermere Jetty Museum of Boats, Steam and Stories will open on 23 of March in Bowness-on-Windermere and it will have over 40 boats on display

Located on the site of the former Windermere Steamboat Museum, which was founded in 1977 by steam boat enthusiast George Pattinson, the new Windermere Jetty Museum of Boats, Steam and Stories will open its doors on 23 March following a £20 million development by Lakeland Arts.

Principally funded by the National Lottery, the Lake District museum will display an import collection of boats that reflect themes of technical, social and business development in one of England’s most picturesque settings.

Designed by UK-based architects, Carmody Groarke as part of a cluster of seven structures, Windermere Jetty is a modern building overlooking the lake. A series of new jetties on the lake allow visitors to sail on Osprey (1902), one of the museum’s fully-restored Edwardian steam launches and enables the regular lake cruise boats to dock and bring visitors to the museum.

Through its collection, the museum tells the story of 200-years of boats, boating and boat building in the Lake District, with a collection of over 40 vessels on display, ranging from Victorian steam launches to record-breaking speedboats from the 1980s. This includes SL Dolly, thought to be the oldest mechanically powered boat in the world, Beatrix Potter’s tarn boat which she used to sketch in, and the 50-foot luxuriously-designed Victorian steam launch Branksome (1896).

A boathouse sits at the heart of the composition where boats can be experienced on the water.

The Windermere Jetty Museum of Boats, Steam and Stories interior

The Windermere Jetty Museum of Boats, Steam and Stories museum features open access to the conservation workshop where visitors will be able to witness the team of conservation boat builders conserve and restore vessels. The team use traditional boat building, engineering and boat finishing skills and extend the skills and opportunities through training, apprentice and volunteer programmes.

 The museum will open with five themed displays: Just Visiting, Life of Luxury, War & Innovation, Spirit of Adventure and Speed.

Key highlights of the museum’s collection include:

– 11 vessels listed by National Historic Ships as nationally important

– Four vessels that are part of the National Historic Fleet

– 10 classic Windermere steam launches (1890s / 1900s)

– A rare early yacht, Margaret (1780)

– SL Dolly (1850), thought to be the oldest mechanically powered boat in the world

– Beatrix Potter’s tarn boat, which she used to sketch in on Moss Eccles Tarn

– Pioneering motor, speedboats and hydroplanes used on the lake from 1898 – 1980

– Canfly (1922), powered by a seven-litre Rolls Royce aero engine

– Two fully-restored boats on the lake, one of which visitors will be able to sail on when the museum opens*

Tickets for the museums cost £9 for adults and £7 for children. Group discounts are available. For more information visit the museum website here.